I'd be gutted if it happened within 4 years. 5 years plus and I'd sit back and let all you whippersnappers take the bullet. Literally and figuratively.

And my father was a marksman during ww2, it was a different world back then and people were far more patriotic and scared back then. Conscientious Objectors still had to go to war, you had to plead your case to a tribunal, and if found valid you were given a non-combatative role, like manual labour or cooking.

Incidentally during war time conscription age was pushed to 51 not 40.